A New Outlook

Disclaimer: All characters are property of J.K. Rowling. I’m just having some fun.


thoughts
{Parseltongue}
normal speech


Chapter 8: Making Plans

When Severus arrived back at the Manor, he immediately called for a house elf.

“DeeDee.”

“Master Snape, sir. What can DeeDee’s do for yous?”

“Where is the Dark Lord?”

“The Master is in the Little Master’s room, sir.”

“That will be all,” Severus said and the little elf popped away.

Severus headed to Harry’s rooms in the West Wing. When he arrived, he knocked on the sitting room door. A few minutes later, the door was opened by Voldemort. Voldemort gestured for Severus to enter and they both took a seat by the fire.

“What have you learned from the Weasley twins, Severus?” questioned Voldemort.

“Much, My Lord,” Severus answered before giving Voldemort a detailed account of the meeting.

“A prophecy!!! Dumbledore had my grandson beaten, starved, and raped because of a PROPHECY?” Voldemort roared.

“I am afraid so, My Lord,” Severus replied.

Voldemort quickly retrieved a piece of parchment, a quill, and a bottle of ink.

“Tell me the prophecy again,” Voldemort commanded as he prepared to write.

“The prophecy states: ‘The one with the power to defeat the Dark Lord approaches…Born to the Heirs of Le’Fay and Slytherin; Merlin and Gryffindor, he will be deceived by the side of Light. True Light lies in the Dark and the Dark hides in the Light. With the revelation of his parentage, he will be saved. The one with the power to vanquish the true Dark Lord approaches…’ That is it, My Lord,” said Severus.

“Hmmm…well, it seems that Dumbledore has unintentionally brought about his own downfall. Nevertheless, prophecies are notoriously unreliable. We will keep this in mind, but we will not make any plans based solely on it. If the prophecy is meant to be fulfilled, then Fate herself will make sure that it is. We will NOT make the same mistakes as Dumbledore. Now, on to other business…tell me more about these young people,” said Voldemort, as he prepared to take notes on the youngsters that were trying to protect his grandson.

“Yes, My Lord. First, the Weasley Twins. They are the biggest pranksters Hogwarts has seen since the Marauders, but their pranks are not meant to be malicious, just fun. Though it pains me to admit it, they are brilliant in Potions and incredibly creative. I was most amused and impressed with their work on Umbridge last year. With her they showed the potential to make very innovative war obstacles. Their ‘Portable Swamp’ was especially inspired, not to mention potentially useful. They left Hogwarts before completing their N.E.W.T.S. and started a joke shop in Diagon Ally. Had you asked me about them yesterday, I would have said that they do not have a serious bone in their body, but after our chat tonight, I see that they can be quite serious, not to mention determined. Their younger sibling and only sister, Ginerva, is one of my soon-to-be 5th year students and the youngest of all the Weasley’s. She is a very bright girl with a very short temper. I have seen her infamous ‘Bat-Bogey’ hex and I have to say that she has a vindictive streak that would make any Slytherin proud. Sometimes, I believe that the only reason she was not Sorted into my own House is because she is a Weasley. What I have heard in the staff room is that she is very good in Charms, and could one day, with the right training, become a great Spell Weaver. Neville Longbottom is a student that I am thankful that I no longer have to teach. He is HORRIBLE at Potions! I have lost count of the number of cauldrons that child has either melted or blown up. He is quiet, forgetful, and very clumsy. However, he is quite loyal and brave when he needs to be. He is also a genius in Herbology. Pomona wants to offer him an Apprenticeship with her after graduation. The only non-Gryffindor in the group is Luna Lovegood. She is a Ravenclaw. There are not words to describe her. She is quite smart, but is an outcast in her own House because of her peculiar behavior. She walks around as if in another world, but has some of the highest grades in all her subjects. I have often wondered if she has Seer blood in her. Her father, Lorimer Lovegood, owns the Quibbler magazine. Her mother died during one of her spell-making experiments when Luna was nine. Last year, Mr. Potter and his friends used Luna’s father’s magazine to combat the articles that were printed in The Daily Prophet,” Severus said.

“Hmmm…so, we have already established that they would do anything for Harry, including joining me. I believe that Harry would recover much faster if he were to have his friends around. We need to figure out a way to get all of the children here without Dumbledore interfering. Bizzy!” Voldemort called.

“Yes, Master,” a house elf answered.

“Go fetch Lucius Malfoy. Tell him I require his, Narcissa’s, and Draco’s presence in Master Harry’s sitting room. Also, tell Narcissa to bring Poppy along,” Voldemort ordered. Bizzy popped out to follow his orders.

“Severus, call for some tea while I check on Harry,” Voldemort said as he stood up.

“Yes, My Lord,” Severus answered and called a house elf. When the order had been placed, Severus quietly got up and crossed the room to Harry’s bedroom. Voldemort gestured for Severus to enter. Severus looked down at the young man asleep on the large four-poster bed. He looked so frail and innocent. How could anyone hurt a child like this? “You did, didn’t you,” thought Severus, “You tormented that boy for five years because you ASSUMED he was an arrogant, spoiled brat that lived like a prince. But you were wrong!” Severus snorted, and then sighed, “I will find a way to make this up to you, Harry. I give you my word.”

Severus was startled out of his thoughts by a sharp knock on the sitting room door. He followed Voldemort out of the bedroom and shut the door with one last glance at the dark-haired angel.

“Come in,” Voldemort commanded as he and Severus sat down and fixed themselves a cup of tea. Lucius, Narcissa, Draco, and Poppy all entered and sat after bowing to their Lord, well Poppy just nodded in greeting. Draco handed Voldemort the journal that contained the confessions of the Dursleys. Voldemort set it aside to read later. After everyone had a cup of tea fixed to their preference, Voldemort and Severus caught them up on the recent events.

“So, basically we need to come up with a feasible plan to get Mssrs. Weasley, Miss Weasley, Mr. Longbottom, and Miss Lovegood here. They will be a great help when it comes to having to explain everything to Harry. They must also be told everything we know and swear an Oath of Loyalty to my grandson. Draco, you WILL learn to get along with the others, understood?” Voldemort said.

“Yes, My Lord,” Draco agreed though he secretly thought it would be impossible to actually do.

“Good. Now, does anyone have any ideas on how to get these children here?” asked Voldemort.

“We could kidnap them,” said Draco. Everyone looked at Draco.

“And how precisely would that work, Draco. If we did succeed, the first thing the Headmaster would do is go check on his weapon. Then the Order would know that Harry and his relatives are gone,” said Severus.

“Just hear me out. Everyone knows that the Weaslette, Longbottom, and Loony Lovegood went to the Department of Mysteries with Potter. It was in The Daily Prophet for Salazar’s sake. So, we could have them meet up in Diagon Ally with the Weasley twins to shop for their school supplies or hang out or something. We don’t tell them about the kidnapping just that they are meeting Severus for news. Obviously since Severus is supposed to be in Romania, he can’t join in the raid. Then we raid Diagon Ally, blow some stuff up, and, in the confusion, kidnap the kids,” Draco explained.

“That might actually work, Mr. Malfoy,” said Poppy. “Fred and George are members of the Order so they would be considered sufficient guards for Ginny, Neville, and Luna, especially since nobody would expect them to be kidnapped. Everyone would expect Ron and Hermione to. With Pettigrew in the Ministry’s hands and Severus supposedly in Romania, Albus would have no one to possibly save them. Even if he did notice Harry’s disappearance, there would be nothing he could do until Severus ‘returned.’”

“Yes, we could use the time that Severus is unavailable to help Harry get better and to give him some much needed training, along with the other children,” chimed in Narcissa.

“Poppy would probably be called to return, but that is an advantage to us. If you, My Lord, gave her a permanent portkey to the Manor, she could keep us apprised of what is going on in the Order. Then we could use that information to help institute a feasible ‘rescue mission’ for Severus to pull off, since we know that Dumbledore will want Severus to find a way to rescue the children as soon as he returns,” said Lucius.

“Hmmm…I like this plan. Severus, write the Weasley twins and tell them that you want to meet with them, Miss Weasley, Mr. Longbottom, and Miss Lovegood in two days. Tell them that they must be all together and alone, but that you will meet them at their shop at noon. Do not inform them of anything else except that it is important to the safety of Harry that they do not let anyone know it is you that is meeting them,” said Voldemort.

“My Lord, if you will excuse me, I will go and write that letter now,” said Severus. Voldemort nodded his head and Severus left after bowing to Voldemort.

“Lucius, go and inform Zabini, Parkinson, Bulstrode, Crabbe, Goyle, and Nott of our upcoming raid, as well as what has been going on. Do not tell them of the prophecy, but let them know everything else. Swear them and their families to secrecy. Have them tell their families what you have told them. Harry will need to get to know their children after he has come to terms with everything that we have to inform him of,” said Voldemort.

“Yes, My Lord,” said Lucius as he bowed and swept out of the room.

“Poppy, do you know Occlumency?” asked Voldemort.

“No, Tom, I don’t,” answered Poppy.

“Well then, Narcissa, I need you to teach Poppy everything about Occlumency that you know. Poppy, Severus will test you until you can keep him out of your mind. Then he will teach you how to project false images to a Legilimens. Then, I will test you until you can block me, just to make sure. Dumbledore is a powerful Legilimens and we do not want him to find out what is really going on. Not only will it put myself and my followers in danger along with Harry, but it would put you in danger. Should anything happen to you, I don’t think my grandson would ever forgive me,” said Voldemort. He continued, “You will have to study this constantly for the next few days. You have three days at the most to learn to protect your mind.”

“Don’t worry, Tom. I will be ready,” stated Poppy with the utmost confidence.

“I’m sure you will,” said Voldemort.

“I need to check on Harry while I’m here,” said Poppy.

“I will accompany you. Narcissa, Draco, good day to you both,” said Voldemort as he followed Poppy into Harry’s bedroom.

Draco started to get up when Narcissa grabbed his arm and pulled him back down on the couch to face her.

“Draco, you listen to me. There will be no hexing, pranking, or being rude to Our Lord’s guests when they get here. You WILL call them by their proper names. If I find out that you have been causing trouble, I will bend you over my knee like I did when you were five and spank you until you can’t sit down properly. I don’t care if they start something, you WILL act like a gentleman. You are all here to help Harry and I will not have that child go through any more trauma because you are unable to act your age. Am I understood?” asked Narcissa, her eyes showing that she was perfectly serious and would carry out her threat.

Draco gulped. “Yes, Mum.”

“Good, now why don’t you go and visit Blaise or Theodore for the rest of the day,” Narcissa said.

Draco flashed a quick grin, kissed her on the cheek, and ran out the door to go visit one of his best friends.

“Children,” Narcissa muttered to herself as she got up to join Poppy in the bedroom. She just hoped that Poppy knew how to meditate. That would make learning Occlumency easier and much faster.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm now back in school, so I've got lots of work to do. I'm going to try and update every two weeks. It may be longer, or if I have a break, it may be shorter. I WILL finish this story, just have patience. I won't leave you hanging for more than a month. Promise.